TFS-SUMMER SERIES: BLACK AND WHITE AND NOIR ALL OVER - 14 Films / 7 Mondays

TORONTO FILM SOCIETY – “Toronto’s film experts since 1948”

SEASON 72 - SUMMER SERIES: BLACK AND WHITE AND NOIR ALL OVER

****Trial Memberships for individual double-bill screenings can be found here.

INNIS TOWN HALL THEATRE – 2 SUSSEX AVE – UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

14 BLACK-AND-WHITE VINTAGE FILMS IN 7 DOUBLE-BILLS ON THE BIG SCREEN! MONDAY EVENINGS IN JULY AND AUGUST DOORS OPEN AT 6:00 P.M. - SHOWTIME 6:30 P.M. SHARP - 15 MINUTE INTERMISSION BRIEF INTRO BEFORE EACH FILM & COMPLEMENTARY FILM NOTES

PROGRAMME #1 - MONDAY, JULY 8, 2019

Feature Film #1: UNDERTOW 1949 (71 min.) Dir. William Castle w. Scott Brady, John Russell, Peggy Dow, Dorothy Hart. WWII vet Brady, just out of the service and looking forward to a quiet, peaceful future, finds himself framed on a murder rap and having to prove his innocence. A well-done and fast-moving film noir.

Feature Film #2: RIDE THE PINK HORSE 1947 (101 min.) Dir. Robert Montgomery w. Robert Montgomery, Wanda Hendrix, Thomas Gomez, Andrea King. Another strong noir of a man coming to a small Mexican town during fiesta to blackmail gangster Fred Clark, but romantic Hendrix and an FBI agent keep getting in his way. A taut script and superb direction. [NOTE: PREVIOUSLY SHOWN DURING TFS SEASON 44 ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1991.]

PROGRAMME #2 - MONDAY, JULY 15, 2019

Feature Film #1: NOCTURNE 1946 (88 min.) Dir. Edwin L. Marin w. George Raft, Lynn Bari, Virginia Huston, Joseph Pevney. A ladykiller songwriter is murdered; the police think it’s suicide, but stubborn tough-guy Raft knows otherwise. A smooth mystery; interesting and suspenseful.

Feature Film #2: THE BIG COMBO 1955 (89 min.) Dir. Joseph H. Lewis w. Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Brian Donlevy, Richard Conte. A raw, violent film noir about persistent cop Wilde going up against cunning, sadistic racketeer Conte. A cult item, stylishly directed.

PROGRAMME #3 - MONDAY, JULY 22, 2019

Feature Film #1: KISS OF DEATH 1947 (98 min.) Dir. Henry Hathaway w. Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark. In this famous gangster saga, Mature is solid as a thief who can’t stay straight but turns state’s evidence. However, it’s hard to compete with Widmark’s remarkable film début as a giggling, psychopathic killer! Filmed on location in New York.

Feature Film #2: NIGHTFALL 1956 (78 min.) Dir. Jacques Tourneur w. Aldo Ray, Brian Keith, Anne Bancroft, Jocelyn Brando. An excellent film noir adapted from a David Goodis novel and given the right fatalistic touches by director Tourneur. Innocent Ray is implicated in a murder, then chased by the killers who think he has their loot. A rock solid cast and great location work in L.A. [NOTE: PREVIOUSLY SHOWN DURING TFS SEASON 44 ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1991.]

PROGRAMME #4 - MONDAY, JULY 29, 2019

Feature Film #1: FORCE OF EVIL 1948 (78 min.) Dir. Abraham Polonsky w. John Garfield, Beatrice Pearson, Thomas Gomez, Marie Windsor. The “numbers” racket is broken wide open when one of its hirelings (Garfield, in a stunning performance) refuses to play ball any longer. A solid film noir, it’s become a cult item. Screenwriter Polonsky’s directorial début. (He would be blacklisted in 1951.) [NOTE: PREVIOUSLY SHOWN DURING TFS SEASON 26 ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1974 & DURING TFS SEASON 50 – SUMMER SERIES – ON MONDAY, JULY 21, 1997.]

Feature Film #2: FALLEN ANGEL 1945 (97 min.) Dir. Otto Preminger w. Alice Faye, Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Charles Bickford. Hard-up drifter Andrews plans to fleece wealthy Faye for her money so that he and sultry Darnell can “get out of Dodge”! However, murder gets in the way. A good-looking film noir, but Faye doesn’t sing!

PROGRAMME #5 - MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2019

Feature Film #1: THE LOCKET 1946 (86 min.) Dir. John Brahm w. Laraine Day, Brian Aherne, Robert Mitchum, Gene Raymond. Beautiful but unbalanced Day ruins the lives of men who fall in love with her, blinding them to her true personality (and problems). Famed for the film’s flashback within a flashback. [NOTE: PREVIOUSLY SHOWN DURING TFS SEASON 31 ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1978.]

Feature Film #2: JOHNNY O’CLOCK 1947 (95 min.) Dir. Robert Rossen w. Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J. Cobb, Ellen Drew. Powell is solid as a guy who gets himself involved in murder and gambling. Director Rossen’s first film and he also wrote some sharp, tough dialogue. [NOTE: PREVIOUSLY SHOWN DURING TFS SEASON 59 – SUMMER SERIES – ON MONDAY, JULY 16, 2006.]

PROGRAMME #6 - MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2019

Feature Film #1: THE CHASE 1946 (86 min.) Dir. Arthur D. Ripley w. Robert Cummings, Michele Morgan, Steve Cochran, Peter Lorre. Luckless vet Cummings becomes involved with a ruthless racketeer (Cochran) and his melancholy wife (Morgan). A neat drama based on a book by Cornell Woolrich. [NOTE: PREVIOUSLY SHOWN DURING TFS SEASON 57 ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2004.]

Feature Film #2: TENSION 1949 (95 min.) Dir. John Berry w. Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse, Barry Sullivan. A hen-pecked husband whose wife leaves him for another man quietly plans to get even with her, but his plan backfires—badly. A well-acted mystery-thriller.

PROGRAMME #7 - MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2019

Feature Film #1: CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY 1944 (92 min.) Dir. Robert Siodmak w. Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly, Gale Sondergaard, Richard Whorf. A nice girl marries a ne’er-do-well whose weakness turns him to crime. From a Somerset Maugham novel set in America, this sordid tale receives classy direction and good performances. A real change of pace by both stars.

Feature Film #2: PHANTOM LADY 1944 (87 min.) Dir. Robert Siodmak w. Elle Raines, Franchot Tone, Alan Curis, Thomas Gomez. A film noir thriller drenched in moodiness, rain-slicked streets, and shadowy atmosphere. An innocent man is accused of his wife’s murder but his loyal secretary seeks the real killer, with a little friendly help. A classic film. [NOTE: PREVIOUSLY SHOWN DURING TFS SEASON 26 ON MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 1974 & DURING TFS SEASON 64 – SUMMER SERIES – ON MONDAY, JULY 11, 2011.]